The Graham Jam

The Oklahoma City Thunder had a statement to make when they returned to the FedEx Forum in Memphis on Monday, Dec. 20.

Three weeks prior, they had been embarrassed off the floor in the most lopsided loss in NBA history, a 73- point blowout. This time the Thunder had a full complement of healthy players and something to prove.

At first it seemed like the Grizzlies were going to outdo themselves and run away with the game again. Oklahoma City got down big in a hurry, scoring only two points in the first 6 minutes of game action while Memphis racked up 16.

But the Thunder calmed down and started scoring. They trailed by as much as 16 in the second quarter but stormed back and tied the game before halftime.

The second half was a heavyweight bout, as OKC traded punches with the Grizzlies and especially Ja Morant, Memphis' superstar guard who returned Monday after missing 12 games with a knee sprain. Morant had a solid return, notching 16 points and eight assists, but he was one-upped by Oklahoma City's Shai Gilgeous- Alexander who led the team with 23 points.

Morant and Gilgeous-Alexander traded buckets down the stretch, but with 16 seconds left OKC found itself up by one and inbounding the ball from midcourt. The Thunder players lined up in a row to make their next moves unpredictable; when SGA slashed to the basket, Josh Giddey found him in stride and Gilgeous- Alexander nailed a crucial layup to put OKC up 98-95.

Memphis had a chance. With 1.5 seconds left and trailing by three, the Grizzlies inbounded for one final, desperate heave. But Dillon Brooks' 60- footer fell well short of the basket, and OKC held on for a 102-99 win.

Brooks' shot felt like a bad memory. Fortunately, it had a much different outcome than the heave last Wednesday.

That night, on Dec. 15 against the Pelicans, Gilgeous-Alexander nailed a stepback 3 in the final seconds to tie the game at 110. It was a huge bucket, the last of his 33 points that night, and sent the game to overtime.

Or so we thought. The Pelicans, out of timeouts, quickly inbounded for a final shot for Devonte Graham — and he hit it. The ball banked in from 60 feet away as time expired, silencing the exuberant Paycom Center crowd and leaving SGA devastated.

It was the longest game-winning buzzer-beater in decades.

"It sucks for sure," Gilgeous- Alexander said after the game. "But it's basketball, it's life. Sometimes things don't go your way. All you can do is control what you can control, and we gave it our all tonight."

Oklahoma City had two days off after the heartbreaker before matching up with the LA Clippers at home. Los Angeles, playing without Paul George or Kawhi Leonard, presented a prime bounce-back opportunity. And with OKC leading for the vast majority of the game, it seemed they were going to do just that.

But the Clippers took the lead in the final minutes, and looked to extend a two-point margin when OKC fouled Justise Winslow intentionally with 7.8 seconds to play.

Fortunately, Winslow is a terrible free-throw shooter, and his two misses kept the score at 103-101. With one last play to run, Oklahoma City inbounded to Mike Muscala, who passed off to SGA at the top of the arc.

His defender sagged, not expecting the 3. Shai performed his signature stepback and launched from well behind the line.

The shot went down, the buzzer blared, the fans cheered and Shai danced. He'd hit a clutch 3 for the second straight game, and left no time for the Clippers to respond as the Pelicans had.

With two gritty victories after the New Orleans game, OKC improved its record to 10-19.

The Thunder return to the floor on Wednesday, Dec. 22, for a home game against Denver before traveling to Phoenix the following night. Then, after a break for Christmas, OKC returns on Sunday, Dec. 26 for yet another matchup with the Pelicans at the Paycom Center.

I hope you all enjoy family, friends and Thunder basketball this week. Until next time, Merry Christmas and Thunder Up!